Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: Zireen language typology; introducing "Zircon"

From:Paul Roser <pkroser@...>
Date:Wednesday, July 16, 2003, 16:21
On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 22:28:14 -0400, Herman Miller <hmiller@...> wrote:

>I've decided to go back to languages associated with concultures, and I >think I've figured out how to get started. Instead of trying to build up a >complex history of inter-related Zireen languages, I came up with the idea >of a Zireen conlang. The idea is that this is a sort of "Zireen Esperanto", >a simplified and idealized form of language that borrows from a number of >related Zireen languages, but without all the complications and irregular- >ities of a real natlang. At the same time, I'd like to try to get a sense >of the overall structure of Zireen languages and how they differ from human >languages in terms of typological parameters. For instance, VOS languages >are fairly common among Zireen languages, but rare for human languages. The >new Zireen conlang, or "Zircon" for short, has a structure typical of >Zireen languages: basic VOS word order, ergative case marking on noun >phrases, and more fricatives than stops.
Can you give the phoneme inventory yet, or is that still in the works? I've noticed some interesting features in a few of the Kolagian languages, such as the alternation between /r/ (a tap) and /K/ (a voiceless lateral fricative) in Jirit (which I realize is Mizarian and not one of the Zireen languages).
>Certainly, Zireen languages have a lot in common with human languages, and >it's not my intention to come up with a truly "alien" set of languages. >Zireen are physically very similar to humans, at least superficially, and >their cultures are not so different that they're incomprehensible to us.
I wonder if anyone could develop a truly 'alien' language, since in order to think about it, it would have to be at least somewhat comprehensible to the human mind... but perhaps that is a discussion for another day & time. --Bfowol

Reply

Herman Miller <hmiller@...>